Apaches baffle Waldron, 10-0POTTSVILLE — Blane Boyd’s walkoff single to score Cavin Reed in the fifth inning of the Pottsville Apaches’ 10-0 win over the Waldron Bulldogs broke a two-game losing skid for the Apaches. Pottsville (4-2) head coach Wes McCrotty said it was exactly what his team needed going into Spring Break. “They did a very good job bouncing back from a losing streak,” he said. “We lost to Dover in the bottom of the seventh and Ozark in extra innings, but ...

Arkansas women rally for 57-55 NCAA win over NorthwesternWACO, Texas (AP) — With a big comeback, the Arkansas women proved to first-year coach Jimmy Dykes they weren't satisfied with just being in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks wanted to keep playing, and they will after overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Northwestern 57-55 in a first-round game Friday. "Big boost of confidence in our first year to be in the NCAA and then to win a game like we had to win," said Dykes, the former ...

Arkansas hangs on to beat Wofford 56-53, avoid 5-seed woesJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Arkansas surely knows about Wofford now. Michael Qualls scored 20 points, Southeastern Conference player of the year Bobby Portis added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and the fifth-seeded Razorbacks held off the No. 12 seed Terriers 56-53 in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night. Arkansas (27-8) escaped a slow-paced, back-and-forth game in the West Regional that featured 18 lead changes, 10 ties and neither team ahead by ...

RYBA holds annual tryoutsThe Russellville Youth Baseball Association (RYBA) conducted its annual tryouts inside the Gardner Indoor Practice Facility on Thursday. RYBA is a little league baseball program for kids ages 4-14 in Russellville and surrounding areas. RYBA director Chad Bartlett said the tryouts have been a tradition for several years. “We call it a tryout, but it’s not really,” he said. “Everyone will make a team. Everyone will get to play. This is just a go...

Cyclones net victory over rival ConwayThe Russellville Cyclones soccer team opened 7A/6A-Central Conference action with a 1-0 win over rival Conway on Thursday at Cyclone Stadium. Jahaziel Martinez scored in the first half on an assist by Landon Short. “Conway is a very physical, very good team, and it seems we open the conference season with them every year,” Russellville (5-1, 1-0 7A/6A-Central Conference) head coach Jared Fuller said. “We matched them on physicality, but I thin...

ATU Agri Department to host golf tournamentThe Arkansas Tech University Department of Agriculture will host the 2nd Annual Agriculture Scholarship Golf Tournament on Saturday, April 18 at Chamberlyne Country Club in Danville. The four-person scramble will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Prizes will be awarded to first, second and third place teams. Lunch will be catered by Chamberlyne Country Club. The cost to enter the tournament is $300 per team for the general public and $180 p...

Lady Red Devils blank LamarATKINS — Alex Webb struckout 11, gave up one hit and one walk during the Atkins Lady Red Devils’ 6-0 win over the Lamar Lady Warriors on Thursday. Atkins had no defensive errors during the victory. Offensively, Kaylen Martin was 3-for-4 with two runs and two steals. Payton Harvill was 1-for-3 with two runs, a walk and a steal. Webb was 2-for-4 with a double. Sydney Webb was 1-for-3 with a double and one run. Bailey Thomas was 2-for-3 with two-...

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River Valley Wrestling places third at stateThe River Valley Boys and Girls Club had 19 wrestlers compete in the Arkansas Youth State Wrestling Championship on Saturday in Rogers. The River Valley Wrestling team finished third out of 15 teams in the 20-and-under club entry category. The team had four individual state champions. Zach Snook won the Division-5, 165-pound title. Cole Hathcote won the Division-4, 130-pound title. Ethyn Gibson won the Division-3, 85-pound title and Trenton Re...

Lady Whirlwinds win Hornet RelaysBRYANT — The Russellville Junior High School Lady Whirlwinds won the Bryant Junior High Hornet Relays on Tuesday with a team score of 101.5, while the Whirlwinds placed third with several top finishers across the board. For the Lady Whirlwinds, Tamara Rhode won the 100-Meter Dash (13.54), the 200-Meter Dash (28.26) and ran the 400-Meter Dash in 1:04.44. Grace Sykes placed fourth in the 1600-Meter Run (6:22.84), and Selena Vazquez placed sixth ...

Wonder Boys to host Savage StormBack on track with 10 victories in their last 11 games, the Arkansas Tech baseball team will look to keep a modest three-game league winning streak going when it hosts Southeastern Oklahoma in a three-game Great American Conference series Friday and Saturday at Tech Field. The Wonder Boys (14-10, 3-5 GAC) have bounced back from a tough start to post a stellar mark in the month of March, ripping off six wins in a row starting with the series fi...

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Lady Red Devils open victorious, defeat RussellvilleATKINS — The Lady Red Devils softball team opened its 2015 season Monday with a 11-0 win at Charleston and a 3-1 win over the Russellville Lady Cyclones on Tuesday. Senior Alex Webb recorded her first no-hitter of the year, as she struck out nine Charleston batters, walked two and one batter reached on an error. Offensively, she went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI. Atkins had 19 hits: Bailey Thomas, 4-for-4, 3 runs, 1 steal; Payton Harvil...

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Cyclones fall to Van Buren 5-2VAN BUREN — The Russellville Cyclones baseball team dropped a 5-2 decision to the Van Buren Pointers on Tuesday. The Cyclones were within 3-2 until the fourth inning, when the Pointers scored two runs to take control of the game. Russellville struck quickly in the first inning as Mark Moyer hit a two-run home run to give the Cyclones a 2-0 lead. Garrett Freeman drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch before Moyer hit his two-run blast. Van Buren began the ...

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Pirates walk-off to beat PottsvilleDOVER — The Dover Pirates won their third-consecutive game courtesy of a walk-off finish Tuesday and defeated the Pottsville Apaches 3-2 at J.P. Lovelady Park. The Pirates trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh before scoring two runs. Dover loaded the bases with no outs thanks to a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch to begin the inning. After a strikeout, a sacrifice fly tied the game at 2-2. Ty Morphis then hit a dribbler that was ...

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Lady Cyclones begin the climbThe Russellville Lady Cyclones were in the business of surprising people this season. After winning only one conference game in 2013 and two in 2014, the Lady Cyclones went 7-5 and finished third in the 7A/6A-Central Conference. Russellville head coach Steve Wiedower said he liked it that way. “That’s one of the things we talked about,” he said. “We wanted to be a team people would recognize at the end of the year and say, ‘Where did they come...

Cyclones lay foundation for basketball successPolarity marked the 2015 Russellville Cyclones basketball program. It was a year head coach Codey Mann anticipated that Russellville could potentially make a state run. He said early in the season he expected them to be competing for the 7A/6A-Central Conference title. Somehow, Mann both got what he expected and the exact opposite. The Cyclones finished their season at .500 (14-14), and reached the semifinals of the Class 6A State Playoffs. Ma...

Wonder Boys' run ends in NCAAsSIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Augustana College proved itself worthy of its No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II Tournament Central Regional and its No. 2 national ranking on Saturday night. The Vikings (31-2) defeated Arkansas Tech University 104-77 in a men’s NCAA Tournament first-round game at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. With the win, Augustana advances to the NCAA Tournament Central Regional semifinals on Sunday, March 15. The Wonder Boy...

Cyclones baseball falls to LR Central 11-6CLARKSVILLE — The Little Rock Central Tigers used a five-run seventh inning Wednesday to breeze past the Russellville Cyclones 11-6 at Lonnie R. Qualls Field on the campus of the University of the Ozarks. The Cyclones had tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the sixth inning on a double by Mark Moyer, but the Tigers backed up two singles with four walks and a fielder’s choice to score five runs and put the Cyclones out of reach in the top of ...

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Atkins' Pinion retires from coachingATKINS — There has to be more to life than winning or losing a game. Atkins High School basketball coach Craig Pinion has decided it’s time to figure out if that’s true. Pinion, who coached the Red Devils for 10 years and the Lady Red Devils the last four, had his resignation approved by the Atkins School Board on Monday night. The board also approved his reassignment to high school dean of students and assistant to the principal, athletic dir...

Golden Suns begin play in NCAA TournamentArkansas Tech University will return to familiar circumstances and face an unfamiliar opponent when the Golden Suns open play in the NCAA Division II Tournament this afternoon. Tech will begin its 12th women’s NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998 by taking on Emporia State University for the first time. It’s one of four NCAA Division II Tournament Central Regional games scheduled itoday. Other opening-round games will pit No. 3 seed Pittsburg...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley